'Dogs Against Romney' Founder Fired Up For Home State Primary

Scott Crider, founder of "Dogs Against Romney," said he's fired up for the Republican primary in his home state of Alabama.

"Dogs Against Romney is anxiously watching for the results in Alabama and we're disappointed to see Romney has closed the gap on Santorum and Gingrich," Crider said. "We're howling mad, we have our teeth in Mitt Romney we're not going to let go."

Crider, 47, is a social media marketing entrepreneur who lives in Gulf Shores, Ala. He said he launched his website (www.dogsagainstromney.com) after the Boston Globe reported in 2007 that in 1983, Romney strapped his family dog's crate to the roof of a car and drove his dog Seamus for 12 hours from Massachusetts to Canada.

"I was genuinely offended someone would strap a dog to the roof of a car," Crider said.

Crider initially intended to amuse a few friends with the website. Now the group's Facebook page has more than 37,000 fans. Crider said interest in the page comes mainly from women aged 35 to 64. Some are fans of Newt Gingrich, some like Rick Santorum, and others favor Barack Obama.

"Dogs Against Romney" activists in several states have staged anti-Romney demonstrations. Crider said a protest outside the Westminster Kennel Club dog show in New York received more attention than any other.

Why the fuss? The dog anecdote fits "with the whole narrative about the guy," Crider said. "He says, 'I'm not concerned about the very poor,' 'I like to fire people who provide services to me.' ... It all plays into this narrative about this guy, that he's kind of cold, kind of calculating."

Crider said he would vote in the Alabama primary, but he declined to say whom he supports politically, except that he'll never support Romney.